The RFA team arrived in the Baltimore area after a relaxing afternoon at only our third house of the trip. The Bowles family, of Columbia, Maryland, was gracious enough to allow us to stay at their home for the evening and enjoy the amenities of a good home cooked meal for a change. Being a dog person myself, I had the pleasure of playing with their dog Elmo who has one obsession, tennis balls. He will chase the ball wherever it may go, even if it involves him going for a swim across the deep end of the pool to get it. While enjoying the surroundings of the Bowles household, I enjoyed watching Carson get badly beaten by Elaine at tennis while Striker and Tatar got some computer work done inside the house. After their tennis match, I decided to try my luck at tennis with Carson and realized beyond any reasonable doubt that tennis is NOT my sport and I know to stay away from the tennis courts from now on.
The next morning was one of the more confusing mornings since the trip began because we couldn’t find exactly where the trail connecting Annapolis and Baltimore began. The guys initially began heading in what we thought was the correct direction, but proved to be completely the wrong direction. Instead of heading towards Baltimore, we began heading towards Annapolis and the U.S. Naval Academy. I have to admit, even though we didn’t stay long in Annapolis, I thought it was one of the nicer cities we have traveled through. So after we realized our error or direction, we turned around and headed back to the starting point and headed in the correct direction along a bike path that connected the two cities. We even had the distinct pleasure of watching Vicky skate for the first time in her 5 days with us. It was hot day, reaching up into the mid-90’s and the skaters were all exhausted and sweaty when they finished up the thirty plus miles that they racked up on the day.
We then drove from the point on the path where we parked the cars into downtown Baltimore to go to the hotel. We drove past M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore Ravens) and Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles) to get to our hotel, which was about two blocks away from the latter. After checking into the hotel and getting everything settled in, we showered up and Strike, Carson, and myself headed to the local Mexican food place for some burritos. While there, however, Carson and I decided to sample some of the thirty or so varieties of hot sauce that were there. Needless to say, I didn’t taste much of my dinner after that since my taste buds were spent after the hot sauce shocking. Some meandering around the hotel, seeing the sights, and taking in the ambiance of the inner harbor in Baltimore followed dinner. Being as tired as I was from the day’s events, I opted to call it a night early and relaxed while watching “Good Will Hunting” (one of my favorites movies of all time).
Just an update for everybody out there reading the blog, we are going to be on Good Morning America next Wednesday morning.
Keep on reading
Jason O.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Sean's Big Day Part Two
As you may remember Sean's first big day of our trip was his birthday which we celebrated in Raleigh North Carloina. Well, today was his second big day. Team RFA was fortunate enough to visit CSAAC, Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children, in Montgomery County, Maryland. Upon arrival the six of us were invited to play BINGO with a group of students in one of the CSAAC classrooms...It was in this arena that Sean shined proving his dominate BINGO skills. The first few games were won by students with Autism who responded with enthusiasm and ear to ear smiles. The next three rounds were dominated by none other than our own Sean Streich. Not only did he win, he dominated the field. As much as I would enjoy bashing Sean and portraying him as an ungraceful champion, I must point out the fact that Sean only claimed two out of his three victories. A little embarassed by his streak of goodluck, after his third win Sean smoothly slid his board in front of Pedro, one of the CSAAC students. Pedro's face lit up when Sean informed him that they won the round of BINGO as a team. Pedro and Sean then picked out a yellow balloon as their prize. Although most people assumed they chose yellow because it matched Pedro's hat, the other five RFA team members knew that the real reason is that yellow is the color of Sean's lucky stuffed animal that he brought with him on the trip.
On a serious note, we had a great time meeting the dedicated staff and enthusiastic students in the CSAAC family. We thoroughly enjoyed our day and were impressed by all CSAAC is doing for those in the Autism community. To learn more about CSAAC and their many great programs check out their website at www.csaac.org.
After we finished with lunch and a tour of CSAAC we hit the road and skated 35 miles towards Baltimore. Although we are getting useto the grind of skating 30-40 miles a day, the hills of Maryland proved to be quite the challenge. The entire skate consisted of tough climbs followed by exhilirating downhills. As many of you may know, this constant change of pace and intensity make 5 miles seem like 10. As we forced our burning legs to propel us up the hills we could not help but draw inspiration from those individuals we saw smiling just hours earlier at CSAAC.
Also, I would like to give a special thanks to Mike Hickey, president of the American Special Hockey Association, for taking the six of us out for dinner tonight. We (well I cant say the same for the girls) enjoyed talking hockey and learning more about the ASHA. We look forward to working with you and the ASHA for the remainder of our trip and beyond. Thanks Mike!
Off to bed...check back tomorrow
Best Wishes,
Carson S.
On a serious note, we had a great time meeting the dedicated staff and enthusiastic students in the CSAAC family. We thoroughly enjoyed our day and were impressed by all CSAAC is doing for those in the Autism community. To learn more about CSAAC and their many great programs check out their website at www.csaac.org.
After we finished with lunch and a tour of CSAAC we hit the road and skated 35 miles towards Baltimore. Although we are getting useto the grind of skating 30-40 miles a day, the hills of Maryland proved to be quite the challenge. The entire skate consisted of tough climbs followed by exhilirating downhills. As many of you may know, this constant change of pace and intensity make 5 miles seem like 10. As we forced our burning legs to propel us up the hills we could not help but draw inspiration from those individuals we saw smiling just hours earlier at CSAAC.
Also, I would like to give a special thanks to Mike Hickey, president of the American Special Hockey Association, for taking the six of us out for dinner tonight. We (well I cant say the same for the girls) enjoyed talking hockey and learning more about the ASHA. We look forward to working with you and the ASHA for the remainder of our trip and beyond. Thanks Mike!
Off to bed...check back tomorrow
Best Wishes,
Carson S.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
RFA hits our nations capital
After a 7 and a half hour car ride from Clifton Park, NY, Vicki Kohan and I joined the boys to begin our RollingForAutism adventure. Hungry from the road, we were lucky enough to have a great dinner prepared for us by John and Arlene the aunt and uncle of the boys’ good friend, Janelle from Union College. Janelle and her neice, Leah, came all the way from upstate NY to join us. Dinner was spectacular, and so was the company. Thank you for all your support!
Unfortunately that evening, we only had one hotel room; Carson and Streich were kind enough to let us girls take one of the two beds while they slept in blankets on the floor (thanks guys!). We let ourselves sleep in until about 10 AM to begin our a 30 mile skate in Northern Virginia. Vicki is a beginner skater, and hopefully with practice, she'll join us on the road. In the meantime, she has put in a great deal of time doing behind the scenes work for RFA. The first day of skating was very humid at about a scorching 96 degrees, which made the afternoon tough. After only 5 miles I was too tired to continue...I don’t know how the boys did it in the South.
Later that day we met with members of the Washington Area Rollerskating (WAR) group. Due to rain, we were unable to go for a skate, but we did chat over pizza and beer at the Froggy Bottom Pub. Later that night, a Union Hockey teammate of the boys, “Pudge”, was nice enough to invite us to stay for the night at his parents house. Thank you, John and Rebecca, for a tasty home cooked meal and opening your house for the RFA team.
The next morning the weather was beautiful, so we embarked on a delightful rollerblading tour of our nations capital with the WAR skaters. It was a good thing we started around 9 AM because by 11 it was fairly hot and humid. WAR skaters participating were leader and great help, Bill English, also, Myeonghee, Tom and their daughter; George, Dan, and Greg. With Vicki, Janelle, and Leah on bikes we all were about the same pace. Only one fall for the day...Vicki had a graceful dismount off her bike going around a turn. Starting at the White House, we saw many monuments throughout the morning, including the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Albert Einstein statue, the Kennedy Center, and several more. Overall, it was about a 12 mile tour around the city. Bill was brave enough to show us a few of his tricks on rollerblades…don’t worry, it will get to YouTube soon!
Life is a highway, I wanna skate it all night long,
Elaine L.
Unfortunately that evening, we only had one hotel room; Carson and Streich were kind enough to let us girls take one of the two beds while they slept in blankets on the floor (thanks guys!). We let ourselves sleep in until about 10 AM to begin our a 30 mile skate in Northern Virginia. Vicki is a beginner skater, and hopefully with practice, she'll join us on the road. In the meantime, she has put in a great deal of time doing behind the scenes work for RFA. The first day of skating was very humid at about a scorching 96 degrees, which made the afternoon tough. After only 5 miles I was too tired to continue...I don’t know how the boys did it in the South.
Later that day we met with members of the Washington Area Rollerskating (WAR) group. Due to rain, we were unable to go for a skate, but we did chat over pizza and beer at the Froggy Bottom Pub. Later that night, a Union Hockey teammate of the boys, “Pudge”, was nice enough to invite us to stay for the night at his parents house. Thank you, John and Rebecca, for a tasty home cooked meal and opening your house for the RFA team.
The next morning the weather was beautiful, so we embarked on a delightful rollerblading tour of our nations capital with the WAR skaters. It was a good thing we started around 9 AM because by 11 it was fairly hot and humid. WAR skaters participating were leader and great help, Bill English, also, Myeonghee, Tom and their daughter; George, Dan, and Greg. With Vicki, Janelle, and Leah on bikes we all were about the same pace. Only one fall for the day...Vicki had a graceful dismount off her bike going around a turn. Starting at the White House, we saw many monuments throughout the morning, including the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Albert Einstein statue, the Kennedy Center, and several more. Overall, it was about a 12 mile tour around the city. Bill was brave enough to show us a few of his tricks on rollerblades…don’t worry, it will get to YouTube soon!
Life is a highway, I wanna skate it all night long,
Elaine L.
A Day with the American Special Hockey Association
The crew of 6 woke up with a smile today as we had the day off from skating. More importantly, we were excited to spend the day at the Garden Ice House in Laurel, Maryland to meet up with some parents and players of affiliated with the American Special Hockey Association.
After a nice lunch and some quality meet and great time with several families, we headed downstairs to the ice rink and strappede on some ice skates. Some of you may already understand the differences in the techniques used to ice skate and rollerblade, but for those that may be unfamiliar, the difference can be significant.
After rollerblading almost a thousand miles you get comfortable using the front wheel that extends in front of the skate, and you start to change your stride accordingly. More specifically, you tend to lean forward to utilize the extra support in the front of the skate. Ice skates don't have this support... and when you lean too far forward, you land on your face. It is safe to say, we pretty much did our first lap of the rink looking like a bunch of amateurs. I'm sure some parents were confused and must've thought that it was some kind of joke that we played division 1 college ice hockey.
The skate was a blast and we had a great time skating and hanging out with players and coaches from the American Special Hockey Association. We all feel extremely fortunate to be able to attend some of these great events and meet so many speical families and children. The committment these parents and coaches show to their children and the cause is truly an inspiration for all of us.
Tomorrow, we will visit the Maryland's center for Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children. After our visit, back on the road for another 40 miles!
Bests,
Sean S.
After a nice lunch and some quality meet and great time with several families, we headed downstairs to the ice rink and strappede on some ice skates. Some of you may already understand the differences in the techniques used to ice skate and rollerblade, but for those that may be unfamiliar, the difference can be significant.
After rollerblading almost a thousand miles you get comfortable using the front wheel that extends in front of the skate, and you start to change your stride accordingly. More specifically, you tend to lean forward to utilize the extra support in the front of the skate. Ice skates don't have this support... and when you lean too far forward, you land on your face. It is safe to say, we pretty much did our first lap of the rink looking like a bunch of amateurs. I'm sure some parents were confused and must've thought that it was some kind of joke that we played division 1 college ice hockey.
The skate was a blast and we had a great time skating and hanging out with players and coaches from the American Special Hockey Association. We all feel extremely fortunate to be able to attend some of these great events and meet so many speical families and children. The committment these parents and coaches show to their children and the cause is truly an inspiration for all of us.
Tomorrow, we will visit the Maryland's center for Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children. After our visit, back on the road for another 40 miles!
Bests,
Sean S.
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